So…remember that time I sat atop my high horse and proudly proclaimed that I would read 12 classics this year, and then it was July and I had read a total of NONE OF THEM!
Oh, dear! Sometimes my reading eyes are bigger than my reading stomach!
I wanted to include a plate with books on it here, but the search only brought up bookplates. Lame.
I’ve been on a weird science fiction kick lately. It started when I finally picked up a copy of Ender’s Game, the dystopian novel by Orson Scott Card that’s on a number of to-read book lists. Ender’s Game is a great book, and while the protagonist is a child, I think it covers some very mature concepts. The plot initially seems complicated, but it’s easy to understand in context and can be enjoyed by a variety of readers. Basically, far in Earth’s future, humans have developed interstellar travel and, in the course of their travels, encounter another intelligent species that attacks them, sparking a centuries-long interspecies war. After years of fighting, the humans decide their best chance is to train exceptionally bright children in military strategy, and the book’s action follows the training of Ender Wiggin, who ultimately leads the human army in the fight against the alien race. While the backstory is pretty complicated, the story of the book is really about the struggle of a child to succeed/stay sane in the midst of intense military training. I found the book interesting in both its humanistic perspective on military training and inside look at military strategy.
